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Donald Frazier on Fallen Guidon: the Saga of Confederate General Jo Shelby's March to Mexico

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Donald Frazier on Fallen Guidon: the Saga of Confederate General Jo Shelby's March to Mexico Edwin Adams Davis. Fallen Guidon: The Saga of Confederate General Jo Shelby's March to Mexico. College Station, Tex.: Texas A&M University Press, 1995. 173 pp. $19.95, paper, ISBN 978-0-89096-684-6. Reviewed by Donald S. Frazier Published on H-CivWar (February, 1996) In the fnal days of the American Civil War, through the interior of that nation to Mexico City. the Trans-Mississippi South was in chaos. Ed‐ The general's original intention was to offer his mund Kirby-Smith, from his headquarters in brigade's services to the forces fghting for Benito Shreveport, had lost control of the various units Juarez to restore the Mexican republic. On reach‐ in his vast department, and rioting, looting, ing the Rio Grande at Eagle Pass, Texas, the Con‐ mutiny, and insubordination were rampant. Not federates symbolically buried their battle fag in all of the Rebel units abandoned military disci‐ the bottom of the river and moved across to start pline, such as it was, and some even became in‐ their new lives as hired guns following their creasingly loyal to the ideals of the Confederacy brigade guidon. once their cause seemed lost. One such unit was Shelby's plans, however, came unhinged. Af‐ Brigadier General Jo Shelby's Missouri Iron ter negotiating with the Juarezista garrison com‐ Brigade. Composed of Missouri and Arkansas cav‐ mander, the general learned that his men pre‐ alry, this organization refused to surrender and ferred to offer their sabers to the Imperialists instead opted to retreat as a group to Mexico and working to prop up the tottering regime of the thus delay the inevitable. Hapsburg prince Maximilian. Thus, the erstwhile This book is a reprint of the late Edwin Rebels declared their preference for yet another Adams Davis's original, published in 1962 by lost cause and in opposition to the forces of na‐ Stagecoach Press. Identical to the frst edition, tional self-determination. Loyal to the wishes of Texas A&M Press's version saves the title from ob‐ his men, Shelby acquiesced, promising to lead his scurity and is one of the frst in a series of re‐ troops to the court of Maximilian himself in Mexi‐ prints that will be issued from College Station. co City. Fallen Guidon traces Shelby's move from The brigade's cross-country trip is the fasci‐ North Texas to the Mexican Border, across to nating part of this book. Encounters with Republi‐ Piedras Negras, and then down a line of march can troops, bandits, partisans, and Indians keep H-Net Reviews the narrative fowing while providing insight into Nevertheless, _Fallen Guidon-, though not a the conditions in the interior of 1865 Mexico. The powerful work of scholarship, is an entertaining Missourians also encountered French anti-insur‐ and useful book for students of both the American gent troops at Monterey who, as circumstances Civil War and the French adventure in Mexico. It would have it, also employed a few dozen unfor‐ is approachable history. given North American rebels. Plunging deeper Copyright (c) 1996 by H-Net, all rights re‐ into the country, the ex-Confederates recalled sto‐ served. This work may be copied for non-profit ries of their childhood regarding the last gringo educational use if proper credit is given to the au‐ invasion of Mexico, and followed chivalric pur‐ thor and the list. For other permission, please con‐ suits that involved dueling and the rescue of Mex‐ tact [email protected]. ican damsels in distress. Not all French comman‐ ders were happy to see the southerners and eyed them with some suspicion. Eager to prove their loyalty, the Iron Brigade engaged in some free‐ lance formal combat at Matehuala, where the Missourians and Arkansans rescued the French 82nd Line Regiment from certain disaster at the hands of Mariano Escobedo's Juarezistas. Shelby's martial successes earned him an au‐ dience with the Emperor. When the forces arrived in Mexico City, however, the Austrian told the ex- Confederates to go home. Maximilian had, at the time, a surplus of Europeans at his disposal and did not care to antagonize the government of the United States by employing former Rebels. Crushed, the hard-riding Iron Brigade held its last review while in Mexico City, then disbanded. Most of the men, including Shelby, went home, but some of the ex-Confederates went on to serve alongside Union veterans with the Juarezistas. Davis wrote an entertaining book. Because it lacks notes, index, and bibliography, however, it serves more to intrigue than to enlighten. Shelby's saga, and its retelling in Fallen Guidon, spawns many questions. Where or what are the good Eng‐ lish-language books on the French intervention in Mexico? What role did former Yankees and Rebs play in that conflict? Is there a succinct military history of the campaigns in Maximilian's Mexico? In what numbers did American Civil War veter‐ ans serve? And, are there primary sources from American adventurers in Mexico? 2 H-Net Reviews If there is additional discussion of this review, you may access it through the network, at https://networks.h-net.org/h-civwar Citation: Donald S. Frazier. Review of Davis, Edwin Adams. Fallen Guidon: The Saga of Confederate General Jo Shelby's March to Mexico. H-CivWar, H-Net Reviews. February, 1996. URL: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=304 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. 3.
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